Hiring mistakes can show up fast. But sometimes, they may take months to uncover…

Unless you’re a part of a large dental corporation, you’re likely running a small, specialized team. This usually means even one mis-hire can have outsized costs.causing:

• Excessive pressure
• Decreased productivity
• Increased training time
• Increased strain on the rest of the staff

Research supports what many dentists have experienced firsthand: mis-hires and turnover carry real financial and operational consequences in dental offices.

In this article, we’ll look at the true cost of a mis-hire, how those costs tend to surface inside dental practices, and what hiring approaches can help reduce risk before it becomes expensive.

The Cost of a Mis-Hire and Employee Turnover

In dental practices, the cost of a mis-hire typically includes recruiting expenses, training time, lost productivity, schedule disruption, and revenue loss from chair downtime. 

Workforce research from Gallup and SHRM, along with dental-specific studies from DANB, shows these combined costs often range from 50% to more than 100% of an employee’s annual salary, depending on both the role and the length of the disruption.

But dentists and office managers don’t need a study to tell them that replacing a team member is expensive. 

You feel it right away. 

When you are in a dental office, you want to focus on treating patients, but you end up participating in scheduling, additional conversations, and training. 

What research does is put real numbers behind that experience.

One of the most widely cited workforce studies, conducted by Gallup, estimates that replacing an employee typically costs between 50% and 200% of that employee’s annual salary, depending on both the role and level of responsibility. 

That range can sound surprising at first. But once you start adding up everything that actually goes into replacing someone, it all starts to look more like reality. 

Because the cost isn’t just the job posting or the interview time. It includes:

• The hours spent sourcing, screening, and interviewing
• Training time is pulled from doctors and experienced staff
• Lost productivity while a position sits open
• Slower performance while a new hire ramps up—or struggles

Gallup also estimates that voluntary turnover costs U.S. businesses around $1 trillion each year, much of which could be reduced with better hiring and engagement practices.

For dental practices, these costs tend to hit harder. 

Why? 

Teams are small, roles are closely connected, and there’s very little room for disruption. 

When a position is vacant or underperforming for a short time, its impact can spread quickly throughout the practice.

Does the cost-per-hire reflect the true cost of a mis-hire? Let’s take a deeper look . . .

Why Cost-Per-Hire Doesn’t Reflect the True Cost of a Mis-Hire

Cost-per-hire is one of the most common metrics employers use to evaluate hiring costs. It includes things like job postings, recruiting tools, background checks, and onboarding.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, those upfront expenses alone often total several thousand dollars per hire. That number can feel significant—but in dentistry, it’s rarely the full story.

What cost-per-hire doesn’t capture is what happens after the hire starts:

• Time spent training instead of seeing patients
• Management time correcting mistakes or filling gaps
• Overtime or temporary coverage when things don’t run smoothly
• The impact on team morale when others have to compensate

In other words, focusing only on cost-per-hire can make hiring look more affordable than it really is. 

The true cost of a mis-hire shows up over weeks and months, inside the schedule and across the team—not just on a recruiting invoice.

Why Dental Practices Are Especially Vulnerable to Mis-Hires

When a mis-hire happens, there’s rarely extra capacity to absorb it. One person struggling or one role left open quickly affects the rest of the team. 

Schedules get tighter, experienced staff pick up the slack, and small problems have a way of compounding throughout the day.

In larger organizations, turnover can sometimes be buffered. In a dental office, it’s felt immediately, often chair by chair.

How Dental Staff Turnover Impacts Revenue

Most dentists don’t think about staffing in abstract terms. What matters is whether the day runs on time and whether the team can keep up.

That’s why turnover in dental roles feels so disruptive.

When a key position is vacant, a dental office can feel off balance. This is especially true for roles like hygienists, where availability directly affects production.

Dental-specific research helps explain why this happens. 

According to studies released by the Dental Assisting National Board and the DALE Foundation, dental assistant vacancies can cost tens of thousands of dollars in annual income, largely due to reduced efficiency, chair downtime, and disrupted workflows.

This shows up as:

• Stress: Increased stress on the remaining team
• Productivity: Losses that go beyond the empty role.
• Training: Training takes time away from patient care.

When a role is left unfilled or filled by the incorrect individual, the impact is not contained. It impacts the timetable, the crew, and, ultimately, the patient experience. Understanding why dental assistants leave is as important as knowing how to hire them.

The Hidden Costs of a Mis-Hire in Dental Practices

When a hire doesn’t work out, the obvious costs are easy to see. You repost the job. You restart interviews. You bring someone new on board.

What’s harder to see and often more expensive are the costs that build quietly in the background.

What are they? 

Research from accounting and workforce firms shows that employers often underestimate the true cost of a mis-hire because they focus on recruiting expenses and overlook what happens day to day inside the practice. 

In dental offices, those hidden costs add up quickly:

• Doctor time was pulled away from patient care to handle staffing issues
• Senior team members are absorbing extra responsibilities
• Schedules are running less efficiently as everyone compensates

Over time, growth plans get delayed because the team is stretched thin. These costs don’t show up neatly on a hiring spreadsheet, but they have a real impact on revenue, morale, and sustainability.

What a Mis-Hire Can Really Cost a Dental Practice

Consider a conservative example.

Suppose a front-office or office manager role pays $50,000 per year; even a low-end replacement cost estimate of 50% of salary puts the cost of a mis-hire at $25,000. At the higher end, that number can easily reach $50,000 or more.

That cost represents months of disrupted operations, lost productivity during onboarding, and time that could have been spent on patient care, marketing, or growing the practice. 

Defining expectations clearly up front, especially for clinical support roles, can help reduce this risk. Defining expectations clearly up front for clinical support roles can significantly reduce this risk, particularly when hiring assistants.

Reduce Mis-Hire Risk and Cost with Better Hires 

Most mis-hires don’t happen because practices aren’t trying hard enough. 

They happen when hiring is rushed after an unexpected departure, or during growth. 

It’s easy to rely on resumes, quick interviews, or gut instinct, however research shows hiring mistakes are the result of:

• Rushed decisions
• Limited candidate pools
• Overemphasis on experience 
• Cultural mismatch

Reducing mis-hire risk is about hiring intentionally.

That mindset matters even more in leadership roles like office managers, where alignment can be just as important as experience.

A More Sustainable Hiring Approach for Dental Practices

Over time, many dentists reach the same conclusion: hiring is about reducing avoidable risk. 

Practices that experience fewer mis-hires tend to rely on clearer role expectations, dental-specific screening, and a stronger candidate pipeline from the start. 

Where and how a role is posted often influences the quality of applicants. 

For practices managing hiring across multiple roles, having a system built specifically for dental offices can make that process more consistent and less reactive.

A Colleague’s Takeaway

If any of this sounds familiar, it’s worth stepping back and looking at hiring not just as a task to get through, but as a risk to manage.

Sometimes, having a second set of dental-experienced eyes on the process is all it takes to prevent a mis-hire that ends up costing far more than expected.

A Practical Next Step for Dental Practices

If mis-hires have been a recurring challenge, you’re not alone.

A dentist created Princess Dental Staffing for dentists. We focus on helping practices hire more intentionally across roles like assistants, hygienists, and office managers. 

For practices looking to reduce hiring risk and create a more reliable team, the employer platform offers a way to add structure to the process by offering vetted candidates and resumes. 

Why Mis-Hires Cost Dental Practices More Than Expected

Mis-hires are expensive, financially and in the daily rhythm of a dental practice.

Every role affects the schedule, the team, and the patient experience. 

When hiring becomes more intentional and dental-specific, those disruptions fade.

 Over time, practices spend less energy fixing staffing problems and more time doing what they actually set out to do: caring for patients, supporting their teams, and running a practice that feels sustainable again.

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